The spoils were shared in a scrappy South Yorkshire derby at Firshill Crescent on Saturday afternoon.
Sheffield United were reduced to ten men just after half-time, but this still did little to effect either side’s resolute defending as both teams made a good job of cancelling one another out.
Rudi Pache almost won it at the death for Barnsley when his bullet header hit the crossbar before the Blades went close on the counter. It ended, though, 0-0 in a frustrating afternoon for the Reds.
Following the start of play, the first half was panning out to be a forgetful one with chances seemingly hard to come by.
The best of them arguably fell to United forward Sam Ackroyd when he was put through on goal in 36th minute. He took the ball round Henry Kendrick, who recovered well by getting back to his feet and closing down the angle before Ackroyd could get his shot off.
At the end of the half, the home side pressed again and almost found a way in when Charlie Winfield was dispossessed. The defender then did brilliantly to track back and cut out the attack.
HALF-TIME: Sheffield United 0-0 Barnsley
The first major incident of the game came in the opening stages of the second half when George Broadbent was shown a red card for kicking out.
From here on, Barnsley looked to take advantage of having an extra man but the hosts did not make this easy.
Just before the hour mark Tommy Willard went close after Will Calligan worked his way into the area and cut the ball back, the home side’s defence closed down quickly and Willard’s shot was blocked before Sam Kelly could be troubled in goal.
As the game wore on it became harder to see where any goals might come from, until Pache rose high to meet a corner only for his powerful header to smash against the bar.
Kendrick had to be alert to keep out Jake Young following a last gasp counter attack, leaving the game goalless.
Speaking at full-time, U18s coach Adam Murray said: “It was a frustrating game, I think it was a typical local derby. We knew it would be a battle today coming away from home, we knew it would be a scrap.
“There wasn’t much quality, the conditions didn’t really play out for a football game but we stuck in there, we battled well against a very strong team in our league and away from home I think it’s a good point for us.”
REDS XI: Kendrick, Gagen, Pache, Trialist, Calligan, Ackroyd, Winfield, Lancaster, McBeam, Feeney, Willard.
Subs: Brown, Binns, Walmsley, Sandhu, Olatubosun.
